Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Was Hired to Build a Bus Station in Venezuela, Instead They Planned a Soccer Stadium

London-based design firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has plans in the works for a new soccer stadium in Caracas, Venezuela called The Estadio Nacional de Fútbol de Venezuela. The project was put together with help from engineering firms Arup and Schlaich Bergermann und Partner. It will be located on one of the city’s rocky hillsides that has captivating views of the bustling metropolis to the northeast.

“The hillside site created an unusual challenge and the design reflects this with terraces cut into the landscape, giving way to a series of floating esplanades that provide access to the various levels of stadium,” lead architect Simon Smithson explained. The soccer complex’s roof features a vibrant wheel of yellow, red, and blue that the architects have dubbed the “bicycle wheel canopy.”

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was originally commissioned to construct a bus station, but the project soon metastasized into a much larger plan called La Rinconada, which includes a transport station connecting the bus system to the metro and train station, as well as the soccer stadium, a baseball stadium, and a racecourse.